What day is it?

At 7:50 this morning the dog started barking like crazy. Billy jumped out of bed to see what the deal was.

Someone was at the door.

That someone was the lady I babysit for. Ummm, hello Jodi, it is Monday. You have to babysit today.

Oops. So Billy let her in and talked with her and I jumped in the shower and got ready.

Clearly this vacation is going to my head.

Ice of Death

As we were driving to my SIL's for our Christmas get-together we drove past a lake. I must add that the temperature according to our van at that time was 7F. As we drove past that lake we saw many many crazy people men sitting on the frozen lake with a fishing pole in their hand.

Some of them were sitting on nothing more than a 5 gallon bucket. Others had tents and other camping gear and still others had poles sitting on the ice while they sat in their vehicles.

Billy turned to me and said, "I must not be manly man because I don't see the fun in sitting on the ice freezing my butt off to catch a fish."

I laughed and said, "I am not a manly man either because you would have to sedate me to even get me out on the ice. And what kind of a sport is it if you are sitting in your truck watching a dvd on your portable dvd player while the heat is blowing on you full blast?"

Clearly we will not be ice fishing in our retirement.

Like Crack

Grandpa gave the kids a Playstation 2 for Christmas. (Well he sent money, we bought it. Surprise Grandpa!) And we bought the one that came with this new Super Star game. Which isn't really a game but rather karaoke for the playstation.

And it is addicting. Billy and I spent all afternoon on Christmas singing our little hearts out. Neither of us could form coherent words or sentences for hours afterwards. Really. But it is so addicting that the microphones are coming out several times a day. And everyone gets into it.

I don't think any of us are aspiring stars, except maybe Megan, she has an amazing voice. But she is so shy that there is no way we would get her on stage. But we are all having fun with it.

----------------

And my own personal crack has become these limited edition dark chocolate peppermint frappuccino's from Starbucks (which can be purchased at Walmart). If they didn't cost so dang much I would drink 10 of them a day. I like the regular frappuccino's too but these, these are like crack. Yum-O!

---------------

And just as I finished this Becca comes in from getting the mail and says, "It isn't cold out there unless you touch the snow."

Uh-huh. She is a 6th grade genius! LOL

Peace

Today I am searching for a little bit of peace and quiet.

Because my husband has gone back to work, there are 7 kids in my house today. Did you all know I had seven kids? Because, seriously dude, you should have told me about the extra six kids. It was quite a shock to the system this morning.

I have been sneaking off into what I think are empty rooms only to find one or two kids already there playing something that santa left under the tree.

I think the only safe place left is inside my new front loading dryer. If you need me just knock.

Happy Birthday!

My Becca, you are 12 today.

12 years go by so fast when you are a Mom. I remember the day you were born so vividly. It is hard to believe that cute chubby little girl is turning into a young lady right before my eyes.

There are so many things I can't wait to share with you as you enter this stage of your life. So many things you don't know about this world that you will discover over the next several years.

I hope mostly for you as this year goes by that you accept yourself and learn to love yourself even more than you do now. This stage in life is hard. Your friends and classmates will become your biggest support group and your biggest enemy. Don't let them bring you down. You are a beautiful person, inside and out.

We love you,
Mom and Dad

Christmas Blessings

This year has to have been one of the best Christmas Day's ever.

We are all sitting here with full tummies. We spent the afternoon playing karaoke on the kid's new Playstation 2. I am hoarse from singing my little heart out (and no I cannot sing well) but it was fun.

We have 7 beautiful kids and many wonderful friends and family.

I hope you all had a great day too.

Merry Christmas

I hope you are all tucked safely into your warm beds enjoying your friends and family.

Merry Christmas!

Diet, Schmiet

I took the battery out of my scale and hid the whole thing under the sink in the bathroom.

I am slowly accepting my body for what it is. It is precious to me because it provided me with 4 beautiful and healthy babies. Sure somedays I wish I didn't have stretch marks. And others I wish I weighed about 20 pounds less. But when I feel bad and catch that little voice in my head telling me I am fat or ugly I tell it to shutup.

My husband loves me and my body and I need to learn to too.

So there will be no hoodia diet pills or other weight loss paraphenilla at my house this holiday season. I am going to enjoy my friends and family and the food.

Santa's Affairs

It is just hours until Santa hits my house. Which started this conversation over dinner. Names have been changed to avoid life-altering embarrassment.

Kid 1: Mom, how is Santa going to get in our house if we don't have a chimney?

Kid 2: We do too have a chimney! I have seen it sticking out of the roof.

Kid 1: No we don't! A chimney is big.

Kid 2: We do. It is just a really small one. Right Mom?

Mom: Um, no. Daddy ripped out the chimney so we could get heat to your bedrooms remember? That pipe in the roof is the bathroom vent.

Kid 1: I told you so.

Kid 2: *sticks tongue out at Kid 1*

Kid 3: It is okay. Mommy will let Santa in. I heard it on the radio this morning. Mommy kisses Santa after he leaves the presents. The song said so.

Kid 1 & 2: *look at Mom with raised eyebrows*

Kid 4: Does Daddy know you kiss Santa?

Sailing Away

Well it is official...

We have worn out the threats of being good or Santa won't bring gifts. The kids don't even flinch anymore when we tell them to knock it off or Santa will leave them coal.

You have no idea how tempting it is to put a lump of coal in each of their stockings to see their faces on Christmas morning. Afterall don't all the parenting books tell you to make good on a threat if you give them one?

But alas, instead of shocking my kids on Christmas morning I will provide the boxes and packages and hope they will get along for at least an hour so I can sit and relax and daydream about sailing away on carnival cruises smooth sailing ships.

Because I have been really good this year, and that would be my ideal gift right now.

And the Final Product...

Here is the Christmas card we decided to go with. The cute little gingerbread men at the bottom are part of the animation that Billy made for the parade of lights float at his work. It is adorable!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! I hope 2008 is a great year for you.

Dog Tags

Sometimes it is good to label your child's belongings so if it gets lost it is easily returned.

Like the 5 dozen or so gloves that we have already had to dig out of the lost and found at school and on the bus. Not to mention the 4 hats I have had to recover after a child claimed that they were in their "backpack" which I have learned is code for "I don't know where it is Mom".

So when Megan started band this year and I handed over a kidney and a few of my limbs for her flute I knew this was one item I didn't want to be searching for. So I ordered dog tags that are metal and that will attach permanently to her flute case. Here she is holding the dog tag before we welded attached it.
Hopefully this will help keep someone else from accidentally picking up her case. And if it should get misplaced or left in her "backpack" at least the finder will know who it belongs too.

What are you looking at?

Ummmm yeah, the camera is over there people? Really what were we looking at?

Need Help

For years I have watched some people close to me drown in the world of drugs and alcohol. It is hard to watch and painful to feel so helpless.

It breaks my heart to see young famous people like Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan get into this nasty world of drugs. I don't think they realize what they are getting into and suddenly they are in so deep they don't know how to get out.

The people in my life and these famous people all try a stint in a drug rehabilitation facility. And it never seems to help. I was watching a special on pbs the other day that said 90 some percent of people who enter a rehab facility will relapse and go back to their life with drugs.

This makes me fear for the future. What kind of people and communities will we live in if no one is sober? That is a scary thought.

Attempt 5000 at Christmas Photo

We tried to get this done quickly and painlessly. Too bad the kids didn't have the same goal. I had to laugh at this picture since it looks like I am about to flick Cassie in the head. I was going to adjust her bow right as Billy snapped this picture.

Staying Up

I mentioned my little trial with coffee awhile back.

What I discovered is I like the flavor of coffee if it is drowning in sugar, milk, and flavoring.

Which leads me to cappuccino. Which does taste really good. But since I only have a very basic coffee pot, making it at home is not going to happen unless I find some inexpensive cappuccino/espresso machines. So far my searching online has found several that are well into the hundreds of dollars.

At this point I think it may be cheaper to drive to Starbucks every day. And it would get me out of the house and hibernation. he he he

Christmas Vacation

Christmas vacation officially starts for us at 3:45 today! I can't wait. No more homework, getting up at the buttcrack of dawn, no more crabby kids getting dressed in the mornings.

I am looking forward to lazy days on the computer, eating lots of pizza and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, dancing and singing to karoke, playing board games with my kids, and staying in our jammies until noon or later.

That is what Christmas vacation is all about.

Teenager Problem

When I was about 12 I got my first pimple. And I was so proud. I was officially a teenager. The excitement lasted about a week and then I started getting more and more pimples until my face was covered. Then I was not so proud. I was embarrased and sad.

My Mom started buying me all kinds of products thinking it would help my acne. Every soap imaginable was used. She even had me try oatmeal, egg, and vinegar. Nothing helped. I think it is safe to say I tried all the acne treatments available at the time.

So finally when my self esteem had been totally crushed and I had tried everything else, my Mom took me to a dermatologist. I finally got results and had somewhat clear skin.

Now here I am 21 years later and my skin still isn't letting go of those pimples. I certainly don't get them like I used to but I still get several a month. I am trying once again to treat them myself with otc products with some success. Thankfully technology has come a long way and the products that are now available are better than when I was a teenager.

I even saw proactive at the mall in a vending machine.

I didn't do it.

I just couldn't bring myself to tell Becca. After doing some secretive exploring, I determined that she is either really good at hiding that she knows or she truly doesn't know.

I am not going to be the one who ruins it for her. I still remember how disappointed I was when I was told.

So for another year at least the fun lives on.

Unlocked

Living in the boonies has it advantages. Like my neighbors are several hundred feet away and there is very little traffic on the street in front of my house.

But it also has its disavantages. For example, we do not have access to any large internet companies or cable companies or cell phone companies. Which means we pay through the nose for services that people in larger cities get for usually half the price.

When I was shopping around for a cell phone I was very disappointed to discover there were very few companies that even had service in our town. And what was worse was the deals they had on their phones was not that great. I wanted a specific phone which I discovered was not available through the company I ultimately chose. I wish I knew then that we could purchase an unlocked phone. That would have made things much easier.

Slave Woman

The dishwasher is running. The large dishes have all been washed, dried, and put away.

The washer and dryer are both running and laundry is getting washed.

The frosting I needed to make for today's gingerbread activity is made and sitting on the clean counters.

The floors have all been swept and vacuumed.

Jack has been fed, washed, dressed and is playing happily.

So I sit down on the couch to get in a little email time. Jack decides he wants to sit next to me so he climbs up on the couch.

And the smell hits me. Damn! How can he possibly need changed 5 minutes after I JUST changed him?

And this is not a chore you can ignore like you can the dryer's buzzer. Especially when he is sitting right next to you.

A Mother's work is never done.

To Tell or Not to Tell...

Becca is 11. She turns 12 the day after Christmas.

Do I tell her the big secret? You know the one about the man in the red suit?

She probably already knows but like the rest of us she is scared to admit it because if we know then he won't bring us any presents right?

She has to know don't you think? After all she is in middle school. Surely her friends have convinced her that her Mom and Dad have been playing her for a fool for all these years?

But what if she doesn't know and I tell her and break her little heart? My Mom told me at 7 and it was way too young, or I was way too naive because I didn't know.

It would be nice to take her shopping with me this time of year but when I am buying S-A-N-T-A gifts I can't. I don't know if she knows.

And if I tell her do I tell her sister who is 10 (11 in June)?

This is way harder than the Birds and the Bees talk. Waaaaaay!

I am

I have seen this going around so I thought I would play along.

I am...
I am a mother to 7 kids.
I start my days optimistically.
I try hard to help my kids become the best they can be everyday.
I enjoy the small moments when I can spend some time alone with each of my kids.
I marvel at how wonderful my kids are.

I am a wife to a wonderful man.
I spend my time doing things that I hope will make his life easier and happier.
I love that I am his wife.
I am proud that we have been married for 14 years.
I am so thankful that he loves me as much as I love him.

I am a woman.
I love that every year brings me a better self-acceptance.
I am proud of what I can do when I try.
I am glad that God gave me a strong mind and body to face the challenges life throws at me.
I am so glad I have been given the opportunity to give birth to my children.
I love who I am.

Home Improvement

It is offical. Billy and I have both burned ourselves out. We have no desire to work on the house, to make any changes, or do anything other than sit on the couch and play on our laptops.

Which is bad considering that the attic is half done started.

Today I stood in the kitchen doorway and looked, really looked at the kitchen. When we moved in we didn't have a kitchen. Unless you count the 50's metal sink that was propped in one corner. There were NO cabinets. And by NO I don't mean a few. I mean zero, zip, nada. So we slapped together a temporary kitchen that looks, well, temporary.

So as I stood there imagining the possibilities if we spent a little money to fix it up. After my little daydream I told Billy about it. And his standard response was, "Not until the attic is done." But with our lack of motivation it is never going to get done. Maybe I need to buy his some new tools as an incentive. That always seems to get him motivated for a little while.

How many festool power tools do you think I can fit under the tree? I need to light a fire under his butt so we can get the attic done.

Thanks

The things I am thankful for this week:

1. I was able to keep my perspectives straight with these two new boys of ours. Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the thought of being responsible for making them "normal" productive citizens.

2. I am thankful that Jack had several good days this week. It was nice to hear him giggle for real.

3. I am amazed at Mr. Bill's ability to read. He is only halfway through kindergarten but is already sounding out large words. Today he was eating M&M's and sounded out the word milk on the bag. He was so impressed with himself that he figured out the word entirely on his own. He has been doing that a lot lately.

4. I am thankful the kids and I have been able to relax and have fun. I bought a squirt bottle a few weeks ago and it has made for some interesting and wet games with them.

5. I am thankful that my husband and I are usually on the same page when parenting our kids. We have hit some rough spots the last two weeks and it is hard to deal with. I am glad we are able to work through our parenting differences and parent our kids together.

6. I am thankful for the writer's strike because we have found some new shows to watch. The George Lopez Show is one of my new favorites.

7. I am thankful we have a four day week ahead of us and then the kids are off for 12 days and Christmas is so much closer.

Battery Backup

I am not a good picture taker. I always forget the camera for an important event or even when the kids are doing something cute. I never used to be that way. I have a zillion pictures of Becca and Megan and it gets less and less with each kid. Part of the reason is it seems like everytime I go to grab my camera for an activity the kids are in, I find the battery is dead or almost dead. After a year of this I decided to go online and get another battery so I won't have this problem again.

Thankfully we have a common camera so it was pretty easy to locate one. Ours is a lithium battery which means it should have a long life. Let's just hope it can keep up with my sporadic picture taking.

Alvin and The Chipmunks

We went to see Alvin and The Chipmunks today. It was a cute movie. I really enjoyed the chipmunks. Theodore is and always has been my favorite. He was really cute in the movie too.

The kids all enjoyed it (except Jack who didn't watch any of it. He was just there for the candy.)

If you are looking for a fun family adventure before Christmas I would recommend this movie.

It comes with the territory

Part of living in the arctic tundra we call South Dakota is dealing with the snow and ice that accumulates on the roads. And with that ice comes accidents.

I am always astonished when we get the first big dumping of snow at the number of drivers who have forgotten how to drive in the stuff. There are usually several accidents involving cars, vans, and tractor trailers.

I imagine it keeps the truck accident lawyers very busy each winter.

Wahhhh!

The heathen child has returned.

After 4 blissful days of a smiling happy child who giggled and let things roll of his back, the tides have turned.

Jack is back to screaming. If you dare look at him I think he may spew green puke on your face.

D.O.N.T L.O.O.K!

Winter Blues

We have snow and cold. Bitter bitter cold.

Today I had to take Mr. Bill to the doctor for his second varicella shot. And the temperature as I loaded 6 kids into their carseats? -3F

That is worse than "freeze-your-nose-hairs" cold. That is "OMG-I-need-a-vacation" cold.

Nothing makes me long for a Vegas hotel room more than this bitter cold in December. What the heck is February going to be like if it is this cold already?

Brrrrrr.

He could sell comforters...

Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

When I was a kid my favorite show was Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Not because of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe or any of the characters (although I could identify with X the Owl.) but because of the picture picture episodes where he showed us how things are made.



I loved seeing crayons go from chunks of wax to perfectly round and sharp pointed colors. And the one where they make blue jeans (which weren't even mainstream style in the 70's) and the vacuum device that sucks the legs in to turn them inside right after they were sewn. And through the whole thing Mr. Rogers and Mr. McFeely narrate what is happening.

And did you know I never realized that it was Mr. Rogers flipping a switch by his feet that made the Trolley go back and forth and then zoom out of the house into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe until I was a teenager and I was babysitting and watching Mr. Rogers? I know I was so naive.

**Interestingly, while I was searching online to see how to spell Mr. McFeely's name I found out you can watch picture picture episodes online! Who knew! So I added the link above so you can reminisce with me!**

Pearls and Disapproval

On Tuesday when Becca was getting ready for her Christmas concert at school she asked me for a necklace.

Since I am not a big jewelry person, I opened my small jewelry box and there hung the 4 necklaces I own; a pearl necklace my mom gave to me, a Black Hills Gold necklace Billy gave to me many years ago, and two necklaces I have bought thinking I would wear them often.

She looked at me and said, "That is all?" I smiled and said yup.

I guess I need to ask Santa for more jewelry for my kids to borrow since they don't approve of mine.

Tookie

Now that the Christmas season is quickly approaching I am baking almost daily. This weekend we made quite a few cookies for the elderly at our church. The kids helped me make them and of course helped me eat them.

This is when we discovered that Jack really really likes cookies.

Everytime I would take them out of the oven he would run over to the kitchen door and yell "Hot! Tookie! Mine!" and run back out. Pretty soon we were all laughing so hard we couldn't see straight.

When they finally cooled enough I gave everyone a cookie. Jack would stand at my feet yelling "Tookie! Tookie! Tookie! Mine! Pwwwwwease!" until I handed him one.

As he walked away clutching his tookie he would say, "Tank you tookie. Mine tookie. Tank you."

Custom

I am sure you have all seen the tricked out vehicles on t.v. as I have. I would say on the road but I live in South Dakota where the road is dominated by tractors and old antique pickup trucks that can't go over 45 mph.

But I watch shows like Trick My Truck and Overhaulin. And it is fascinating to me that they can change a vehicle from drab to fab. After all a vehicle is not like a house. If you don't have a good foundation on the car, you have a lot of work to do.

But somehow they always manage to make the trucks and vehicles look great. The other day I ran across a website while shopping for my hubby's Christmas present that sells billet grilles which, at first I thought was a chicken organ, but after reading the website discover are custom grills for the front of a vehicle.

Right now my husband drives a Chevy Metro. Think itty bitty clown car. So I don't think a custom grill is really going to look that great on his car. Now maybe if I could afford a new truck for his Christmas present I could get a new custom grill to go with it. Too bad my SAHM income doesn't cover the price of a new truck. ;)

Agoraphobic

Why is it so hard for me to pick up the phone and call to RSVP when my kids get a birthday invitation?

Everytime they come home with one I dread making the call. If I can, I pass the job on to Billy. But most of the time I try to suck it up and make the call. Afterall, I am an adult and I am perfectly capable of making a phone call.

And it is not like the parents are mean or anything. I just get scared and nervous. It makes no sense to me.

But I am always relieved when I get an answering machine instead of a person. Is it any wonder why I have no friends?

Protection

When Billy and I first got married we were hounded by a "nice" man who thought we needed family life insurance. At the time we were newly married and in college. While it would have probably been the opportune time to purchase life insurance, we were on a college students budget. Eventually the guy talked us into a small term policy for both of us. And about 2 years later we couldn't make the payments. Afterall we had a ton of art supplies to purchase so Billy could graduate from college.

2 years ago Billy's Mom passed away. And we suddenly realized the importance of life insurance. At the time of her death none of the children knew if she had any life insurance at all. We found out that thankfully she had some through her employer. It was enough to cover her 8000.00 funeral and leave a few hundred for each child. Suddenly we could see how life insurance would be important to our kids even if it is for nothing more than to cover the funeral expenses.

And ironically at that same time another "nice" man started hounding us about buying life insurance. So we did.

Mr. Bill

I have mentioned before how ummm.... anal?.... my son is about certain things in his life. We have found as he gets older it is only getting worse.

For example,

Only Mom can get him up in the morning. If Dad tries he cries and throws a fit.

The little tag thingy on the back of his tennis shoes CANNOT be tucked into his shoe. (I hardly even notice this on my own shoes much less worry about where it is.)

He must have a cup of water before going to sleep every night. And it must be brought by Mom. And it must be his cup.

He will only sleep with a flannel pillowcase. The flannel one with clouds on it. No other one will do.

He likes to wear his handsome clothes (aka dress clothes) but the other day a boy at school made fun of him because he was wearing his dress shoes. Now they are only for church and weddings. (And at home when noone is looking.)

He writes, eats, colors, and cuts with both hands. And he gets really mad when someone tells him not too. (Working with his teacher on this one. She said it is fine so long as the muscles in both of his hands stay equally strong, and his right hand is weaker so they are working on that with him.)

There are many more things he does. The getting up in the morning is rough. Billy gets irritated and angry with him because he can't get him up for anything. I walk up there and tell him it is time to get up and he does. He is just so particular.

Thanks

I have decided to bring a little more positive into my life and in the process I will share it with all of you. So each Sunday I will post the things I am grateful for from the following week.

1. I am thankful for doctors and antibiotics. Friday I took two of my kids to the doctor because I suspected they both had strep throat. Two days on antibiotics and they are both feeling 100% again.

2. I am thankful to the kid's school. They had organized and executed two wonderful Christmas concerts that all of my children participated in. It was so exciting to watch them stand up and sing in front of all of the parents. They did a great job. And Megan got to play her flute in front of a group for the very first time. She did a great job.

3. I am very thankful for my husband. He is really good about stepping up and helping out with the kids and the housework when I don't want to. I was not feeling good on Saturday and he took over and got all the kids fed so I could rest for awhile.

4. I am thankful for working appliances. With a family of 9 a working washer and dryer is very important. Unfortunately our dryer has bit the dust and so I have had to resort to a clothesline stretched across the hallway until we get a new one. It gets the job done.

5. I am thankful I have very well behaved kids. I hate to differentiate between our biological kids and our adopted kids but in the behavior area they show huge differences. Somedays I wonder how I am going to make it another day and one of the kids will come up and hug me and tell me they love me. We really do have very well behaved kids.

Christmas

If any of you would like a Christmas card from us please email me your address and I would be happy to send one on to you.

Cold

I have been drinking a ton of hot chocolate lately. Because I am freezing. And it tastes good. But it also has a lot of calories and fat in it. So I thought I would try coffee. Although I am not a fan of coffee. It smells good but never tastes as good as it smells.

So I went out and bought some starbucks morning blend (thinking it wouldn't be as bitter) and some non-dairy vanilla flavored creamer. And I made my first cup the other day. It tasted okay if I added some sugar but I didn't want anymore after the second cup.

And then about 2 hours after I drank the coffee I felt like my nerves were on edge all day. My head was spinning and for the life of me I couldn't sit down but everytime I got up I felt dizzy.

Thinking it was just a fluke, I tried it again the next day with the same results. So I put the coffee in the freezer and called it a day. Clearly I cannot even force myself to become addicted to something. LOL

Of course I still can enjoy Starbucks Frappucino's (especially the new dark chocolate peppermint ones) and an occasional cappuccino. They don't have nearly the same effect on me. I may have to invest in a Rancilio Silvia Cappuccino and Espresso Machine (or something similar)to see if I can make my own at home. Although I am pretty sure hot chocolate and cappuccino are about equal in the fat/calorie department.

It's Friday...

Today is our usual day off now that the kids are going to school 4 days a week.

Unfortunately two of my 7 kids are sick. Both Billy and Becca have a fever and sore throat. It started yesterday for both of them. I am guessing strep throat but have made an appointment for them this afternoon.

The joys of winter at our house.

What if?

As I was driving home from preschool today I saw a huge flock of birds on the road. And I immediately felt sorry for them. They can't go hide in a warm house like I can. I hoped they had a good fat layer built up to keep them warm.

And then I thought, "What if God is making the world obese on purpose so that we can live through the next ice age?"

Then all those super skinny models and people who are constantly fighting the fat would not survive. And all their starving, exercising, and eating vegetables would be for nothing.

That would be ummmm.... sweet revenge? ironic? funny? the perfect reprisal!

Surprise

My very good friend, Tee, over at Spilt Milk gave me this award almost a month ago. And I have been meaning and meaning to post about it but life got in the way.




So here it is:

And after much consideration I am passing it on to all my blog readers. Because I truly do think you are all fabulous. You come and listen to my craziness everyday and don't judge me for the stupidity that spills out.

YOU are fabulous. If you have a blog, go and put this award on your own blog. And then pass it on to your fabulous friends.

Wah!

Jack is crabby.

Really really crabby.

If someone so much as even looks at him, or he thinks someone looks at him he throws himself on the floor and screams until he is hoarse.

So today, after 3 days of this torture, I decided to hell with normal parenting techniques. Distraction hasn't worked, time out hasn't worked, bribery hasn't work. He doesn't respond to anything. He just likes to scream.

So today I screamed when he screamed. If he goes Wah! I go Wah!, if he goes boo hoo, I go boo hoo.

The first time he looked at me like I had three heads. The second and third time it was funny. But by the fourth time he was pissed. He was not getting the results he wanted anymore.

Just wait until all the kids get home and I tell them to join in when Jack screams at us. He will really love me then.

Squished

Since we brought the boys into our family our house feels like it has shrunk.

We gave the boys our bedroom upstairs and we moved downstairs into what was the office. So right now it resembles an office with a bed stuck in it. I would love to redecorate our bedroom so that it looks like a bedroom again.

I was surfing the web looking for designs that I would like to see in our room when I found modern platform beds. While I was looking at the pictures Becca came over and shouted in my ear, "I want one of those!"

And in my best mature voice I yelled back in her ear, "Me first!"

The ninth box

Last night I opened the ninth box.

Of what you ask?

The ninth box of Candy Canes to put on the tree of course.

The kids have eaten 8 boxes of them since we put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving.

Any guesses on how many we will go through before the tree comes down on Christmas night?

Celebration Time!

We found out today that starting in 2008 our insurance will cover surgical sterilization!

Celebrate with me! That is great news for us.

Well, for me.

Billy is not nearly as excited as I am.

I must go buy several bags of frozen peas. ;)

Me

I was reading another gal's blog the other day and was shocked when I read her rant about not getting any comments on a particular post. I was shocked because I couldn't believe she said it out loud...on her blog.

I don't know why it shocked me. And I was really surprised that I was shocked.

And then I started pondering this oddity. I realized that I don't ask for what I want much. I expect people to know what I am thinking and what I want and what I need. I realized I think like a 2 year old. You know, the stage where you think the world revolves around you and only you?

Apparently I never grew out of that stage. I recognized this in my relationship with my husband a few years back. It sort of came out of necessity; I didn't like being disappointed when he didn't do what I had expected him to. Not that he always does what I expect but he has a better idea of what I want now. And we do a lot less fighting.

But with the rest of the world I am still holding back. Why is that? Sometimes I think I am being polite. Sometimes I am just too scared to ask. Sometimes I just feel like keeping things secret.

But many times I feel angry that the person didn't read my mind and know what I wanted. Which is silly when I didn't voice my needs. How could they know?

Interesting....